Demons & Angels
by WinryRockbell6390
Summary: Tseng visits an old collegue to find her out of town. Her neighbor leaves him a some momentos one of them being a diary. Taking an interest he reads it and finds things out about 3 certain SOLDIER 1st Class that not even Cloud or Zack could have known...
1. Prologue

**A/N: I know I need to update my other stories! And I'm SO sorry! D: But I've lost my muse for them at the moment. .; (I really need to find a way to keep going with them...anyone who's willing to help me discover plot bunnies for them, I'm all for it!)**

Prologue

"_What could it hurt?"  
_That was the phrase that ended up with him here._  
"You haven't spoken to her in years."  
_Reno's voice still rang in his ears as he stood in front of A Taste of Banora Bakery in Sector 3 of Midgar._  
"It's been eight years."  
_Stupid Reno.

"Are you looking for Miss Vast?"  
He turned to his left to see a woman holding a box of fruits.  
"Yes," he responded, "I'm Tseng, an old colleague of Miss Vast's."  
Adjusting the box in her arms, the woman straightened her posture. "I'm afraid she's gone," she said heavily, "did you say your name was Tseng?"  
Tseng only nodded.  
The woman placed her box down and approached him, opened the door to the bakery, and disappeared inside.  
A moment later she reemerged with another box in her arms. She held it out to him, earning a curious look from the Turk.  
"…She wanted me to pass this on to you," was all she said.

As if that was all the encouragement he needed, Tseng relieved the woman of the small burden.  
"I'll be next door if you wish to talk," the woman said, walking back to the front of her store and picking up her box, "my name is Yuki, by the way."  
With that, she vanished into the store.

Tseng stared at the contents of the box in his hands. Small mementos took up most of the space, with some letter buried about. Taking a seat on the porch of the bakery, he began to search through the 4-by-4 box. Old post cards, pictures, and letters were sorted out first.  
A smile twitched at his lips as he adventured through the pictures. Several of them were memories of nine years prior within the Turks.  
Reno…Rude…Cissnei…and Angel.  
His chest clenched in remorse as he remembered one of the oldest members in his profession.  
Angel Vast had been a cheerful and motherly woman. She contrasted against the rest of their well-organized group.  
Tseng was stern and by-the-book.  
Reno was rankly and spontaneous.  
Cissnei was young and sarcastic.  
Rude was quiet but to the point.  
And Angel was…childish. At least, for most of the time he'd known her. She was childish, but not naïve. Immature but responsible. Bubbly but perceptive. An anomaly.  
Considering the company she kept, Tseng wasn't the least bit surprised.

Picking up another picture, his smile died a bit.  
It was a picture of Angel, Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth. Her best friends. All SOLDIER. All 1st Class. All anomalies.  
His heart ached as he recalled the events that led to her resigning from Shinra.  
All revolving around those three SOLDIER 1st Class.

Continuing through the box, Tseng paused as he spotted a small book.  
A diary?  
Why would Angel put her diary in a box for him?  
Curiosity poked at him like no other. The knowledge of Angel's most inner thoughts lay at his fingertips.  
It had to be a mistake.  
Angel couldn't have meant to put this in the box…could she?  
That's when two words in her sloppy, but legible, handwriting caught his eye: _"Please Read."  
_Surely, it wasn't an invasion of privacy if the writer wished for it to be read, right?  
Flipping the well-worn book to the first page, he read.

_Can you believe my life has been so crazy?  
What happened to the carefree years that seem so long ago?  
Angeal…Genesis…I didn't believe a word Sephiroth said about your treachery…and I still don't, almost nine years later…_

Nine years? Tseng wondered.  
That meant this entry had to have been written fairly recently.

_And Sephiroth…I could never stay mad at you. *chuckle* And you knew it, too._

Tseng's heart clenched again. Of course, he should've known. If it truly _was_ her diary, then she would eventually mention the psychotic ex-SOLDIER.  
So why did his heart cry out for her that much more?

_Anyway, enough reminiscing. To whoever's reading this, I want to save whatever bit of humanity my friends have left._

Well, at least she wasn't naïve, Tseng thought. He had always wondered what Angel thought of her friends' fall from sanity. Would she be realistic about it or deny it all? Apparently it was the former.  
Smart girl.

_Within this diary are telling that one of my dearest friends and I have compiled about my friends Angeal, Genesis…and Sephiroth. I just wish for someone to remember them like I did: wonderful friends, warriors, and human beings._

Tseng smiled at the entry. They would have loved her for this. But he feared Angel may be the only being left on Gaia that still saw them as "human."  
Realizing her purpose for revealing her inner most thoughts to the world, his respect for her rose as he turned the page that told of her past.


	2. Entry 1: The Old Days

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the Final Fantasy franchise. All characters, places, and major events belong to Square Enix. The only characters I own within this story are Angel Vast, her family, and her neighbor, Yuki.**

Entry 1

The Old Days

_10 August 1995_

One down side of working with Shinra is barely any vacation time. So I usually sneak out to the SOLDIER Floor of the Shinra Building to visit Angeal and Genesis. It's a hassle—sneaking around—but it's fun nonetheless. Especially when Angeal can get us into the training room when no one's looking.  
It was during one of our "escapades" that I met him.

"This is Angel," Angeal introduced us. "She's a Turk. Been one for as long as we've been in SOLDIER."  
"You make that sound like an accomplishment," Genesis snorted. "It's not like we are important, Angeal. We are only Seconds."  
Both Angeal and I rolled our eyes.  
"It's a pleasure," I said turning and smiling to the only other SOLDIER 2nd Class in the room, "Sephiroth."  
He nodded towards me with a smirk, "likewise."

The four of us were inseparable after that. Three SOLDIER 2nd Class and one Turk…quite a curious group, I'd say. I'm actually surprised I still remember that first meeting…so much has happened since then…I would've thought my mind would have blurred it with everything else from before the Nibelheim Incident…

_25 October 1995_

I swear, Genesis has a serious phobia of Halloween. I've never met a person who absolutely abhors the holiday like he does. But then again, he was always like that, even when we were kids.  
I remember that Angeal and I would find some way for Genesis to join us in Trick-or-Treating.

When we were 10, I had to "bribe" him into the cowboy outfit his mom bought him by promising him 13 kisses. I've never seen his face so red! To this day I'm still unsure if it was because of my "bribe" or because of how he looked in the cowboy get-up. Ha-ha! Not to mention he looked like someone told him he'd live another 25 years when I handed him 13 Hershey kisses by the end of the night. Angeal never let him live that one down!

At age 15, Angeal blackmailed poor Genesis into dressing up for a Halloween party we were invited to at one of the houses up the hill. I still don't know what Angeal said to him, but every time he brought it up Genesis would get so flustered! I think Angeal said he wouldn't tell a girl that Genesis liked her or something…I wouldn't put it past him. That would explain why they never told me…I'd probably blab. :)

Ah, but this year, surprisingly, Genesis willingly participated in Halloween! Can you believe it?  
THE Genesis Rhapsodos willingly going to the annual Shinra Halloween Party! As a Turk, no less.  
I still think he was making fun of me, no matter what he said.  
Angeal went as a black Chocobo. It was so cute! Granted, it was my idea, but he pulled the costume together so well! I think he secretly wanted to be one, despite his insistence to Sephiroth and Genesis that I made him do it.  
I went as—what else?—an angel! Shockingly, I was originally gonna go as a moogle. But Sephiroth said that an angel "suited me better." Pfft, the prick knows me for a few months and thinks he knows everything about me! Can you believe him!? Well, I ended up going as an angel anyway at Angeal and Genesis's insistence. I swear, if I hear Genesis call me "Shinra's Most Nettlesome Angel" one more time I'm going to punch him!  
Sephiroth went as a samurai. Talk about predictable. I swear, he just loves to flaunt his sword. Ok, granted, he took a wooden katana to the party, but the principle still applies, right? And the nerve of Angeal! He mocked me all night just because I commented how Sephiroth looked less like a prick with his hair in a ponytail. I think Genesis and Angeal have a sick pleasure of making me irritated. Sad thing is it humors Sephiroth, too! Gratuitously, he doesn't mock me outright, but that smirk! That smirk is _just_ as bad as mocking me.

Anyway, the Halloween Party had to be one of the most memorable moments of working for Shinra. It was one of the rare events where all branches of Shinra could get together and drink themselves stupid. And that's exactly what most of them did.  
And when I say most, I mean Reno.  
He has to be the most unconventional employee in all of Shinra! But then again, I'm not exactly the stereotypical Turk, either. Now Tseng, our superior, definitely fits the description of a "Turk." But looking at him at the party, you'd never think so. Who knew that uptight Tseng would be the one to dress up like a woman for Halloween? But then again, I have a strong feeling he lost a serious bet against the President…

"Would you care to dance?" I turned to see one of the SOLDIER 3rds smiling at me, dressed in a 'Prince Charming' get-up. Eh, why not?  
"Sure," I replied as he led me to the dance floor near the entrance of the Shinra Building.  
The dance ended after 2 songs, though. He politely said his farewell with a smile I'm almost positive was forced. I mean, I knew I was a bad dancer but still…  
"You look disappointed!" I heard Angeal laugh from over by the bar. I blew him a raspberry before walking over to him and Sephiroth.  
"You just wish it was you I was dancing with," I snorted.  
"I believe Angeal appreciates having the nerve endings in his feet intact." I glared at Sephiroth, his comment not "appreciated" in the least. Angeal just laughed at us…the nerve.  
"Jealous bastard," I huffed before walking towards Reno's end of the bar…the poor guy was so drunk he couldn't walk straight. I could've sworn I heard Angeal laugh and Sephiroth snort as I left. Pricks.

"I think that's enough drinking for you, Reno," Tseng said as he tried to pry the heavy concoction from his subordinate.  
I walked up to them, snatched Reno's drink from him—shockingly, I was more successful at it than Tseng—and chugged it, placed it down on the bar counter and glared at Reno, "drunk bastard."  
Tseng and Reno stared at me. Tseng in mild astonishment at how fast and soberly I downed the hardcore drink; Reno in a drunken stupor.  
I looked around the room, spotted one of our other subordinates—Rude—talking to one of the members of the Research Department. I sighed and turned to Tseng, "I think I may just turn in early, sir." Turning, I left my boss and colleague to head home…only to bump into Genesis. I frowned, the effects of Reno's drink starting to blur my senses.  
"Why so sour, angel?" My frown deepened. My mind becoming so fuzzy I couldn't catch that he used my name in a mocking tone to my costume rather than my name.  
"I'm going home." I sneered.  
"Your attitude has turned south rather quickly," he deadpanned, "is it because of your two left feet?"  
I glared up at him, "no! It's because I'm constantly mocked because of my two left feet!"  
Genesis only smirked before patting my head and letting me pass. He said something to me then, too. But my mind was too hazy to care or hear. Only later would I recall his statement, "infatuation makes one blind to one's own feelings."  
I swear, they're all pricks.

_17 April 1996_

I'm so proud of them! I feel like a mother watching her children graduating high school!  
But in reality, I'm a childhood friend hearing about her 3 best friends getting promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class.  
Okay, so really it's just Angeal and Genesis since Sephiroth was promoted last month, but the feeling is still there.  
My boys are getting so big! Ha, Angeal whacked me upside the head for saying that to him. Geez, 22 years old and he still gets embarrassed like a teenager!  
"How does it feel to be a SOLDIER First Class?" I grinned at them as we all sat on the fountain edge in Sector 8.  
"No different than when we were Seconds," Sephiroth scoffed, "You ask the most childish questions, Angel."  
I just stuck my tongue out at him—kinda proving his point about the childish thing, but whatever—and turned to Angeal. "SOLDIER First Class Angeal Hewley. Has a nice ring to it," I smiled.  
Angeal laughed. "Maybe. It sounds unbelievable to me."  
"Such little faith in oneself," Genesis smirked, "I, personally, am proud of my new title. Wear it with pride, my friend."  
"I agree with Genesis," I added, "First Class is a rare occurrence in SOLDIER. The fact you all made it is a wonderful thing."  
Sephiroth snorted, which I ignored of course. I wasn't going to let his ego bring down my good mood.  
Angeal stood up and removed the Buster Sword from his back and looked at it in reverence. Sephiroth, Genesis, and I stayed silent out of respect. The sword was an heirloom made for him and meant a lot to him. We weren't foolish enough to question his sentimentality towards it…it was a symbol of his dreams, his honor.  
I guess…that's when I started to look at the three of them in a different light. They were my best friends, but they were so much more powerful than I…and I never really knew why. I think…at that moment, I finally understood.  
Each of them had their own personal story; each had their own reason for joining Shinra's SOLDIER…just like I had mine with the Turks.

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**A/N: I'm rather proud of this chapter. This is just kind of the "introductory" chapter to Angel and her personality. Yes, the story will be Angel-centric, but the story itself will traverse the majority of the Complilation of Final Fantasy VII (Crisis Core, Before Crisis, Final Fantasy 7, and Advent Children) through her eyes. Let me know what you think. please? I'd like to know if this story's excellent, good, bad, or needs to be burned.**


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